England Eliminated After Second Straight Win by Costa Rica

(The Guardian)

Recife, Brazil - For the first time since 1958 England have been eliminated from the World Cup in the Group Stage.  This shock came after a second consecutive stunning win by Costa Rica on Friday in Recife.

Costa Rica again stunned the world with another impressive win to guarantee a place in the Round of 16.  After previously defeating Uruguay, Costa Rica beat Italy 1-0 to make it impossible for England to reach the knockout stage.

The Costa Rica victory over Italy came after well placed header by Bryan Ruiz.  The header went off the crossbar and in to beat Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon.  Ruiz's goal ensured the Costa Rican's their first knockout stage birth since 1990.

Though England were reliant on a positive result from Italy, their Thursday match had somewhat set the stage for their elimination.  While Costa Rica pulled off two consecutive wins, the Three Lions were twice unable to find the much needed three points.

England suffered their second loss on Thursday at the hands of Uruguayan and top Premier League striker Luis Suarez.  Suarez scored a brace against England, who were unable to produce a much needed equalizing goal.

The biggest positive for England is despite their elimination, the FA has announced that Roy Hodgson will remain the Three Lions' manager through the Euro 2016 campaign.  Another boost for the England squad is that veteran forward Wayne Rooney finally broke his World Cup scoring drought against Uruguay.

Despite Rooney's goal not being enough to keep his side in the game, the left footed strike surely will give the forward a confidence boost.

With England eliminated and Costa Rica through, the most important remaining match of Group D is the showdown between Italy and Uruguay.  The winner of the match secures a spot in the Round of 16 while the loser will be eliminated.

Should the two sides draw, goal differential will decide who is through and who will be taking a plane trip home earlier than planned.  As it stands, if there is a draw, Italy will go through on goal differential with Uruguay still being -1 after conceding three against Costa Rica.

The final matches of Group D will take place on June 24.  The winner of Group will take on the second place finisher of Group C, while first place will take on the team that finishes second in Group C.